1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable end connector and method of assembling a cable into the connector, and more particularly, to a cable end connector having a latching member and a method of assembling the cable into the connector which comprises a step of extending wires of the cable through the latching member prior to terminals of the connector being attached to the wires.
2. Description of Related Art
A cable end connector commonly comprises an insulative housing having a plurality of cavities defined therein, and a plurality of electrical terminals received in the cavities. Each terminal is electrically connected with a corresponding wire of a cable by a particular interconnecting means; for example, by crimping the wire within a pair of arms formed on the terminal. However, in use, the terminal may occasionally sustain an unexpected pulling force acting on the wire in a direction opposite to the direction of original insertion of the terminal into the corresponding cavity. This can lead to displacement of the terminal or even disengagement of the terminal from within the cavity. Therefore, it is desirable to develop locking systems which can stably secure the terminal in the cavity.
Recently, several different terminal locking systems directed to the above-described problems have been developed. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,223 issued to Richard et al. discloses one kind of electrical connector with terminal locking means. The terminal locking means includes a pair of cantilever arms extending from the main body of the terminal in a slantwise manner. When the terminal is inserted into the cavity of the housing, the arm abuts a shoulder formed in the cavity. Thus, the terminal is retained in the cavity by a resisting force generated from the shoulder. However, electrical terminals most commonly used in the electrical connector are made of some kind of relatively soft metallic material, such as copper or copper alloy. A terminal made of such material is often not hard enough to provide a sufficient resisting force for retaining the terminal in the cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,436 and Re. 34,539 both disclose another conventional electrical connector having a different locking structure. The connector includes an insulative housing defining cavities each adapted to accommodate a terminal therein, and a latching member adapted to be attached to the housing for securing the terminals in the cavities. The latching member comprises first latching means which can position the latching member at a first position relative to the housing, and second means and third latching means which can position the latching member at a second position relative to the housing. When the latching member is at the second position, a locating portion thereof extends into the cavities thereby locating the terminals in the cavities. In the process of assembling the cable with the connector, the latching member is firstly attached to the housing and located at the first position by the first latching means. Then the terminals with the wires of the cable already connected thereto are extended through openings of the latching member and received in the cavities of the housing. Finally, the latching member is pushed to the second position, and is secured to the housing by the second and third latching means.
The above-described locking structure can ensure stable retention of the terminals in the cavities, but it still have some disadvantages. The latching member is located at the first position prior to the terminals being inserted into the cavities of the housing. The configuration of each terminal is rather irregular, which makes it difficult to insert the terminal through the corresponding opening of the latching member. That is, when the terminal having the wire of the cable already connected thereto is inserted into the opening of the latching member, the terminal inevitably interferes with inner walls of the latching member surrounding the opening because of the relatively small dimension of the opening. As a result, the latching member is prone to be prematurely pushed to its second position by the terminal. When this happens, the latching member prevents the terminal from entering the corresponding cavity of the housing, since the cavity has been blocked by the locating portion of the latching member. Therefore, assembly of the connector and the cable cannot be readily achieved.